Greeting card



March 25, 1947. HIST-ED 2,417,982

EETING CARD iled June 19 1944 INVENTOR,

Patented Mar. 25, 1947 The greeting card industry is now a business oftremendous proportions. Where but a few years ago it was the customduring certain seasons, as at Christmas, New Years and Easter, to sendcards of greeting, these special occasions for remembrance have beenadded to by including Mothers Day, Fathers Day, birthday anniversaries,and so on, There are sympathy cards and, as advertised, cards for alloccasions and especially printed for mother, dad, sister, brother,sweetheart, uncle, aunt, and cousin, Thus, the selling of greeting cardsinstead of being seasonal is a year around business with merchantshaving a stock on hand at all times.

As the custom of sending remembrances of this type has become moregeneral and the industry grown accordingly, so has the quality and priceof the cards been increased in direct proportion. And, while formerly afew cents would purchase what was deemed an appropriate remembrance, onenow pays, on the average, a much higher price. The money spent by theaverage family in the course of a year for greeting cards amounts to aconsiderable item.

No matter how elaborate or expensive the cards, they are with fewexceptions, depending on the relationship between sender and recipient,kept for a short time only and then destroyed or put away and forgotten.As these cards usually arrive through the mails unsoiled and in goodcondition, it is my belief that there not only could but would be agreat saving in money and in the use of expensive paper by makingprovision whereby the cards could be used a number of times, and with nofeeling of offense by the second or third recipient especially as thecustom would become generally known and accepted.

In view of the foregoing I have provided what may be termed a multipleuse greeting card, and it is the object of the invention to make thistype of card of novel construction with practically no increase in thecost of production, and to establish a custom that will result in aconsiderable saving in money by most families and a very worthwhilesaving in paper, especially in these times of scarcity.

The accompanying drawings illustrating the invention and forming a partof this specification are as follows:

Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 are ipective illustrating cards made in accordancevith the invention but each showing a different nodification thereof.

Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary face views of :ards showing twoother-modifications.

similar views in perv UNITED STATES PATENT GREETING CARD George B.Histed, Rochester, N. Y. Application June 19, 1944, Serial No. 540,939 4Claims. (01. 229--92.8)

OFFICE Fig. 7 is a plan view of one of the removable signature cardsshown in Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the complete mailing unit with parts brokenaway to show the plurality of envelopes used.

In the drawings similar reference numerals refer to similar partsthroughout the several views.

While the invention may be adapted to use with a single card or aso-called card comprising a number of leaves, the illustrated embodimentthereof shows a conventional type consisting of a single sheet of paperwith the printing all on one side, and which is folded on line I to formthe top edge and then at right angles thereto along line 2-thus forminga card, or, more properly a folder, having a front 3, back t, and twoinside leaves 5 and 5. Hereinafter it will of course be understood thatthe term card proper or greeting card will mean any type Whether asingle card, a folder as illustrated, or a booklet.

As the purpose of the invention is to have the greeting perform what maybe termed multiple duty, that is, by being sent through-the mail anumber of times, the sender does not sign the card proper but places hisor her signature on one of a plurality of small cards or tabs 1detachably held in any suitable manner to the card proper, In Fig. 1these signature cards are individually removable and held in place byhaving the lower corners of the pad or stack, of say four or five,inserted through the diagonally disposed slits 8 cut in the preferablylower portion of the inner leaf 6. The recipient, in due time, removesthe signed card 1 then similarly signs the greeting and sends it toanother person.

In Fig. 2, the signature cards form a pad 9 which is fastened bysuitable means, as a staple Hi, to the leaf 6.

A preferred modification of the invention is that shown in Fig. 3 inwhich a plurality of signature cards 1 are removably held within acontainer or pocket comprising, in this instance, a piece of suitablematerial, as paper, folded to form a back I I, overlapping top andbottom flaps l2 and I3, respectively, and, if desired, an outwardlyturned portion M at each end of the back I I, such end portions, onlyone of which is seen in this perspective view, if provided with a returnbend, as shown, having sufficient rigidity to hold the cards 1 againstendwise displacement. The bottom flap is provided with a slit I 5 toremovably receive the tab end of the flap l2 in locking engagement.

The back II is attached by means, as an adhesive to the leaf 6 wherebythe flaps l2 and I3 become, in effect, hingedly connected to such leafand with the end stops I4 form a pocket for receiving the signaturecards 1.

The modification seen in Fig. 5 shows parallel slits l5 and into whichthe ends of elongated signature cards 1 are inserted. If desired, thesecards I may have their ends cut down, as shown in Fig. 6, to provideshoulders l6 adapted to engage the leaf at the ends of the slits l5 andthus hold such cards against lateral displacement.

Still another modification of the invention is that shown in Fig. 4 inwhich one of the inner leaves, indicated at 6 is perforated along the.

dotted lines I! to provide tabs l8 which may be torn off and used inlikemanner as the signature cards I and 1 The greeting card is of a sizeto fit within the smallest one of a plurality of envelopes l9, the outerone being addressed to the first person to receive the greeting and towhom the entire unit of card and envelopes is mailed. Then, when thegreeting is mailed a second time, the next largest envelope is used andso on, each successive recipient removing the signature card of thesender and himself signing another one when he in turn mails thegreeting.

What I claim is:

1. In a greeting card for multiple use, a card proper bearing themessage of greeting, a plurality of smaller personal cards to be signedseparately by the successive senders of the greeting, and a means forholding saidsignature cards to the card proper and in stacked relation,comprising two overlapping flaps having hinged connection to the cardproper, one of said flaps having a slit therein, and a tab on the otherof said flaps for lockingly engaging in said slit.

2. In a personal greeting card for multiple use, a card proper bearing amessage of greeting, a plurality of smaller cards to be signedseparately by the successive senders of the greeting, and a means forholding said signature cards to the card proper in stacked relationcomprising a blank folded to form a back portion and overlapping top andbottom flaps, said back portion being attached to the card proper andsaid flaps portions, said back portion being attached to said 1 cardproper, said flaps having interlocking engagement with each other, andsaidend portions functioning to hold said signature cards againstendwise displacement.

4. A personal greeting card in accordance with claim 3 characterized bythe said end portions being formed with return bends in the manner andfor the purpose set forth.

GEORGE B. HISTED.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Italian 1 May 20, 1936

